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Army chopper crashes in Arunachal Pradesh, 4 killed
The advanced light helicopter (ALH), a HAL Rudra built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and also known as ALH-WSI, was on regular sorties with five personnel onboard when it crashed around Migging, south of Tutting, at 10.43am, the army said.
At least four people were killed in an army helicopter crash in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district on Friday, officials said, adding a search for one more member of the security force was underway.
The cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained, the officials said.
The advanced light helicopter (ALH), a HAL Rudra built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and also known as ALH-WSI, was on regular sorties with five personnel onboard when it crashed around Migging, south of Tutting, at 10.43am, the army said.
The chopper had taken off from Likabali in Lower Siang district . District officials said the site is around 140 km from the headquarters of Upper Siang.
As news of the crash spread, the army and air force launched a joint search and rescue operation in the area. While three columns of army personnel tried to reach the site on foot, one MI17 and two ALH choppers were pressed into service to trace the personnel, the officials said.
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“A total of five personnel were on board and during the search and rescue operations, the team recovered the mortal remains of four individuals…,” a release issued at 6pm by Lt Col. Amrinder Singh Walia, public relations officer (defence), at Tezpur said.
The release also said that the cause of the crash remained unknown and an investigation into the matter is underway.
This is the second incident of an Army helicopter accident in the state this month.
On October 5, a Cheetah helicopter of the army crashed during a routine sortie near Tawang, killing one pilot and injuring another.
